PLANNING COMMISSION
May 16, 2005
7:30 pm
Item 1 on the
Agenda: Meeting called to order –
Roll Call.
Present: Council & Staff Present:
Ms. Newsom Scott
Wingerson, Assist. City Manager
Ms. Alexander David Ramsay, City
Counselor
Chairman Hill Mayor Carol Rudi
Mr. Boor Councilman
Wayne Beer
Mr. Stanley
Mr. Shevling
Mr. Whitton
Mr. Revenaugh
Ms. Abbott
Mr. Steffens
Mr. Reynolds
Ms. Lowe
Absent: None
Item 2 on the
Agenda: Pledge of Allegiance.
Chairman Hill led the group in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
Item 3 on the
Agenda: Approval of March 21, 2005
Minutes.
Motion by Ms.
Newsom, second by Ms. Alexander to approve the March 21, 2005 minutes as
submitted. The minutes were approved
as submitted.
Item 4 on the
Agenda: Communications from the
Audience.
None.
Item 5 on the Agenda: CONSIDERATION: of a Final Plat at 5900 N. Oak Trafficway. Applicant/Owner: Northtowne Lincoln Mercury/Larry LaFever. (#1248).
Mr. Wingerson reported
that this request will combine several parcels of land into one large parcel of
land. Primarily, this plat vacates the
north McGee right-of-way and various utility easements throughout the property. The engineer,
Ms. Newsom asked about
the circle inset showing additional right-of-way.
Mr. Wingerson answered
that is the preservation of a site triangle.
Mr. Boor questioned what
a site triangle was.
Mr. Wingerson explained
that a site triangle ensures there is no encroachment of vehicles or fences or
anything else that would hinder visibility in using the intersection.
Mr. Boor asked if N.
McGee is vacated.
Mr. Wingerson said that
it is currently City right-of-way. The
proposed plat will vacate the right-of-way and, in effect, provide that to Mr.
LaFever for his ownership.
Mr. Boor asked if there
is ingress and egress to this plot of land.
Mr. Wingerson answered
yes there is. It is in the N. McGee
right-of-way from the south.
Mr. Boor said that now
there are trees there and it is a dead end.
Mr. Wingerson replied
that on the south side of what was McCarthy Nissan is 59th Terrace,
so access to the property would be from 59th Terrace all the way to
the north end of what is Mr. LaFever’s property.
Chairman Hill asked if
there needed to be any condition added that if this property is transferred
that some easement be given to that property if it’s not transferred along with
this.
Mr. Wingerson said that
the Commission can certainly make such a condition; however, the property would
have to be replatted if that were to happen.
Ms. Abbott asked if this
was being done so that the vacant building could be occupied.
Mr. Wingerson said that
there are several buildings on the property and right now the problem is that
the property cannot be secured until the public street is vacated.
Mr. Whitton asked if the
applicant is planning on securing the property with a fence.
Mr. Wingerson answered
yes.
MOTION: By Mr. Steffens, second by Mr. Whitton to
approve the Final Plat of
VOTE: Ms. Newsom Yes
Ms. Alexander Yes
Chairman Hill Yes
Mr. Boor Yes
Mr. Stanley Yes
Mr. Shevling Yes
Mr. Revenaugh Yes
Ms. Abbott Yes
Mr. Steffens Yes
Mr. Reynolds Yes
Ms. Lowe Yes
Vote: Yes-12, No-0.
The motion passes.
Item 6 on the Agenda: Other
Business.
a. ZAPO- timeline. Mr. Wingerson said that as many of the Commissioner’s know ZAPO is the Zoning and Platting Ordinance which is a re-write of the Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Regulations into one document. The desire to revise those documents has existed for close to ten years. There have been several attempts through the Planning Commission and Council to move that forward and, for a variety of good reasons, that hasn’t happened. Staff is proposing to present the entire document to the Planning Commission in it’s entirety, have the Commission review it and go ahead and adopt a basic document that can be amended over time. The newly adopted ZAPO will put staff in much better standing as they do their normal business. After the adoption, entire sections can be amended as needed, spending as much time as necessary on each one. Mr. Wingerson suggested a study session take place with the Planning Commission either before or after a meeting in either June or July to begin discussion. The Council would review it next, probably in September, and hopefully adoption would follow. The same basic schedule was presented to the Council a couple of months ago. They were supportive, but asked that Mr. Wingerson get the Commission’s concurrence before moving forward.
Chairman Hill questioned the idea of going forward with a basic ordinance and then improving on it.
Mr. Wingerson explained that the current ordinance was written primarily in the 1960’s and revised in the 1980’s. The language that we use today in planning and zoning is different today. The basic document, in effect, would update the language of the current ordinance and bring it into 2005. That would not entail a lot of procedural changes. From that point, staff can add the more time-consuming sections for the Commission and Council to debate publicly; such as detailed landscape provisions and fencing issues.
Ms. Alexander asked if the Commission will be provided with the document in advance of the study session.
Mr. Wingerson said yes. The entire document is about 300 pages or so.
Ms. Lowe asked Mr. Wingerson how many policy recommendations he is referring to.
Mr. Wingerson said there might possibly be six secondary topics that need consideration.
Ms. Newsom asked that the Commission be given ample advance notice for a study session.
The group decided to hold their study session for ZAPO on June 6, 2005 at 7:00 pm.
Item 7 on the Agenda: Communications from the City Council and the
City Staff.
Mayor Rudi said she was glad to see everyone present tonight. She has had her copy of ZAPO for six weeks and is still reading it. She encouraged everyone to think about what isn’t in it and also about the changes that we are going to have to make in the City as far as redevelopment and how ZAPO will be involved in that process. One thing that has been brought up to her lately is the number of one-car garages.
Councilman Beer said that redevelopment is something that this City is going to have to grapple with pretty quickly here and make some serious changes. We need to look at how to rehabilitate existing neighborhoods, especially those immediate post WWII type houses. Those are folks who, generally speaking, are not in the market for a 2,000 sf house, they are not in the market to sell and they are happy with their home. With the right renovation tools they might be able to expand their home.
Councilman Beer also reminded
everyone that Bluesfest weekend is coming up on June 10th & 11th. He encouraged everyone to volunteer to help
at Bluesfest if they haven’t already signed up.
Also that weekend is the Citywide garage sale. He announced some upcoming Chamber
events: Chamber After-Hours, May 18,
Holiday
Mr. Wingerson said he had a half a dozen things he wanted to follow-up on. First, he will find out where Old Maid’s Creek is for Ms. Alexander. The City’s TIF Commission had a very good training session last week. The training host was Mike White of White, Goss, Bowers. There is a connection between what the TIF Commission is doing and what the Planning Commission will be doing. All the projects that go to TIF will eventually come to the Planning Commission, so staff will be copying some of the training material for the Planning Commission as some background information.
On Monday, July 25 from 5:30-7:15 pm at
First Bank there will be a Smart Moves workshop. It’s a design activity that talks about
public transportation in the region.
This one focuses on
Mr. Wingerson explained that Ms. Abbott, along with other Commissioners, have brought up four issues that are somewhat connected: Larry Meyer’s detention basin, Englewood Vista, East Creek improvements and trees down in a detention basin. What he has been trying to do in the last couple of weeks is pull together a comprehensive response to all of those things to show the broader picture. There is some history and it is taking longer that anticipated. He is hopeful that a comprehensive history will be in the Commission’s next packet.
Finally, Chairman Hill had raised a
couple of concerns of general interest.
The former Texaco lot south of Commerce Bank was of concern at the last
meeting. Prior to this last weekend, six
citations had been issued to owners of vehicles for sale in that lot. The other topic is
Ms. Newsom asked what the backside of the store is going to look like in a month or two.
Mr. Wingerson replied that was the main area they worked with them on, the drop-off area. The Salvation Army is committed to police that area as often as it takes to make sure it doesn’t get to looking bad.
Mr. Wingerson said the last issue is
Sheridan’s. Staff believes August will
be the start of construction. The hang
up in all of that, as it turns out, is the financing of the franchisee. He has applied for a small business association
loan. The Federal regulations require
that the term of the lease exceed the term of the lease on the land where the
store will be built by some number of years.
Heritage Properties was somewhat uncomfortable with that; leasing the
land longer than the building would be there.
So, going back and forth has taken a long time.
Item 8 on the Agenda: Communications from the Planning Commission Members.
Ms. Abbott said that
the Bell’s have their new driveway and 58th Street is curbed and
they’re getting ready to put in new asphalt.
It’s beautiful and gorgeous and thank you very, very much! The whole neighborhood appreciates it. One thing she is curious about is Santerra
and what has happened to it?
Mr. Wingerson
answered that the infrastructure contractor’s owner retired. His second in command agreed to fulfill the
contracts on his time schedule and therefore, has caused a time delay. His understanding is that the company is
suggesting January 2006 as a possible time for people to move in. Not very many people have backed out of their
reservations. Only about one or two out
of twenty-six.
Ms. Abbott said
there are some culverts sitting there that are half full of silt from the
property.
Mr. Wingerson said
he will have someone take a look at it.
Ms. Newsom said that
she is coordinating the volunteers for Bluesfest and she really needs some help
on Saturday night. The shifts are only 2
½ hours long and you get a free tee shirt and parking pass. She is also working on a project with the Chamber
where she needs old princess phones or old rotary phones, so let her know if
you have something.
Ms. Alexander said
she was at the N. Oak Garden shop today and it was her understanding that they
couldn’t put up a sign because the City is going to widen N. Oak. She asked Mr. Wingerson if he knew when.
Mr. Wingerson said
the project widens N. Oak to provide turn lanes to access 76th
Street and is in property acquisition right now. His best guess for a start date would be next
spring.
Ms. Alexander also
wanted to thank Public Safety who are very courteous and kind. They were able to go on the decks behind some
townhouses in her neighborhood and find an 89-year old woman on the floor who
could not get up. They had to break the
glass to get in and when they left, they picked up every speck of glass. That really impressed her and make her feel
secure in Gladstone. The last thing is,
tomorrow night Leslie Bishop will be accepting an award on behalf of Dan Bishop
at the Reardon Center in Kansas City, Kansas.
Mr. Revenaugh asked
about an update on 64th & N. Prospect.
Mr. Wingerson said
that the developer has provided the City with engineering drawings and are
negotiating improvements with MoDot. He
also mentioned that surveyors were out today getting some last minute
data.
Mr. Revenaugh asked
if there were any potential tenants yet.
Mr. Wingerson said
he did not know of any yet.
Mr. Steffens said
that he too was surprised by the Salvation Army’s new location in Prospect
Plaza, but he knows that they are real proud of that new store. He spoke with someone from there and they
felt there was a real need for a store up here.
They are a great organization and one group where the money doesn’t all
go to the officials of the company.
Item 9 on the Agenda: Adjournment.
Chairman Hill adjourned the meeting at 8:12 P.M.
Respectfully submitted:
______________________________________ Approved as submitted _____
Becky Jarrett, Recording Secretary
______________________________________ Approved as corrected _____
Brian Hill, Chairman